No Longer HIdden
by Wings of Stars
Summary: A romance (I'm helpless) with one funny part, well, maybe two. I dunno. Just R/R.


A/N: It's 11:00 at night, so forgive me. I decided to do sort of a romance comedy. Please don't flame me. And please don't go on with the whole "Harry and Hermione suck as a couple!!" thing. It doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy. It makes me feel cold and prickly. Besides, would you want anyone to flame your story?? Thought as much. Okay, none of the main characters are my creation. The belong to the wonderful, talented J.K. Rowling. The story is mine. I hope no one else has one like it. If they do, I'm terribly sorry. Okay, I'll shutup now.

********

Hermione leaned back in her chair, throwing her hair back. Her eyes were red and puffy from the lack of sleep. She looked back down at her homework, which was scattered all across the top of the round wooden table she was sitting at.

She stood up and walked around the dimly lit common room. 'Why do I do this to myself?' she asked crossly in her thoughts. She stopped in front of the fireplace, where the fire was still burning, but was very small. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She deserved a little break.

"Still awake?" a familiar voice asked. She looked toward the staircase to the boys' dormitories. Harry was standing there, grinning broadly at her.

"Yes. But you wouldn't know if you were asleep," she said, shaking her brown-haired head. He started down the staircase.

"You look tired. You haven't been studying all night have you??" Harry asked, smiling once again. From behind his round glasses his brilliantly green eyes sparkled.

"What else do I do all night??" She asked, a little sarcastically. Harry expected her to put her hands on her hips any moment. The firelight danced across their faces. Harry walked closer to her. He was easily a head taller than her.

"Close your eyes," He said, almost eerily.

"Harry, what're you . . ."

"Just do it. Close your eyes," he said, more firmly.

"Okay, okay," she said, exhausted and closed her eyes. She was now very aware of how soft the carpet under her feet was. She almost jumped when something touched her right hand.

"Don't open your eyes," he said and guided her forward and then to the left. "Sit down."

She made sure that there was really a chair there before sitting. Harry let go of her hand. "Now just relax," he said softly. The chair was so fluffy that it wasn't hard at all to do.

After a few moments there was no sound, not even the popping of the fire. The world behind her eyelids grew, if possible, even darker. She opened her eyes.

The fire was out, and all she could see was some silhouettes of tables and chairs by the window, where moon and starlight was creeping in. She felt her heart beat a little faster. She didn't like being in silence at Hogwarts. It just wasn't normal.

"Harry? Where are you?" she asked the air in front of her tensely.

Harry popped up from behind her chair and tapped her on the head with his wand. "Boo," he said and covered her mouth with his hand just as she screamed.

"That wasn't funny!!" she said crossly.

"I beg to differ," he argued, chuckling a little.

"I'm going to bed," she announced, gathering her homework from the table. "_Lumos,"_ she said to her wand, and the tip lit up faintly, revealing more detailed silhouettes.

"Goodnight, Sunshine," Harry said sarcastically. They turned and went their separate ways.

Harry woke up the next morning, not feeling totally refreshed. He laid still in bed with his eyes closed.

"Harry, are you awake yet?" Ron asked.

"Not really," Harry groaned, rolling over in his entangled mass of scarlet bed sheets.

"Where were you last night?"

"I went and teased Hermione. She needs a little humor in her life. You'd think she didn't like us anymore," Harry said, grinning.

"You just wanted to flirt with her. I know you fancy her," Ron said raising his eyebrows.

"I fancy her?? What an absurd assumption," Harry said, getting out of bed and dressing -He knows too much- Harry thought.

They were still arguing when the entered the Great Hall. The enchanted ceiling was covered in puffy clouds brilliant shades of pink and orange from the sunrise.

"What are you two arguing about?" Seamus Finnigan asked. He was sitting across from Harry and Ron at the Gryffindor table.

"Oh, Ron's being absurd," he said combing back his un-tameable black hair with his fingers. "He says I fancy Hermione."

"Oh, but don't you?" Hermione made a puppy face and then smiled as she pulled out the chair on the right of Harry.

"Good morning, Hermi," he said nonchalantly, eating some more of his toast with marmite. 

(A/N: If there's anyone English reading this who likes marmite, how on earth can you stand it??)

"You know I don't like being called that," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Yes, I know, but would it really stop me?" Harry asked.

That day's classes went pretty much uneventfully. In Potions they had to endure Malfoy's relentless sneering and snobbiness, but nothing new.

Later that night, Harry and Hermione decided to practice Elevating Spells in an empty classroom. Surprisingly, Hermione couldn't concentrate hard enough to do it.

"There has to be something wrong if you can't do it. I mean, this is Hermione Granger, who has been able to perfect every spell, potion, and charm in 3 days or less," Harry said, almost mockingly.

"You make it sound so glamourous," Hermione said, sitting on a desk.

"Okay, so maybe it's not glamourous, and maybe you're not popular, but what does that really matter, in the end?" Harry asked, walking in front of the desk Hermione was on. -She's so pretty when she's humble. She's even pretty when she's not- he thought.

"It matters enough, but you wouldn't know about all that, would you?" She asked, looking him straight in the face. -No wonder every girl in Hogwarts fancies him. Those eyes, those gorgeous, gorgeous eyes- she said to herself.

"There are more things I'd like than popularity. Being popular is boring," he said. -If only she could know what I want more. But I can't very well tell her, she'd be scared, I could lose her as a friend-.

"Such as?" -say Cho Chang and I'll kill you-.

"Just . . . stuff," -you-.

-Why can't I tell him? Why can't I risk this for something more?-. 

-She should know, I should tell her. I can't-. The silence in the room was tense, and all they wanted to do was tell each other.

Harry and Hermione burst out in a explosion of words that neither could hear. They hushed at the same time.

"Sorry, you can go first," Harry said politely.

"No, you can," Hermione offered. 

"I insist," Harry said stubbornly.

-This is stupid- Hermione thought crossly to herself. She grabbed the front of his robes and pulled him forward into an intense kiss. After going through the initial shock of being kissed, Harry kissed her back, and they were both so focused on this kiss that they didn't hear the door being opened.

"Potter! Granger! That is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen!" Professor Snape half-yelled.

They broke off the kiss immediately at the sound of his voice. Harry felt himself go bright red and saw Hermione blush deeply.

"Sorry, Professor. It won't ever happen again," Hermione said, hopping off the desk she was sitting on.

"Very well," he said and walked down the hall muttering something that sounded like "totally inappropriate".

"Um, that's what I wanted to say. What did you want to say?" Hermione said nervously, not looking up at Harry.

He lifted her chin with his finger until his brilliantly green eyes were looking straight into her brown ones. "I wanted to say the same thing. But you said it much better than I could've."

They kissed again, and they couldn't have cared less if Snape came back and gave them detention. The feeling they had was worth more than anything.

*****************

A/N: Any and all flames will be used to roast marshmallows for smores for everyone who gives me a good review.


End file.
